The Broad Idea of Labour Law: Industrial Policy, Labour Market Regulation, and Decent Work

This chapter re-states the case for a broader interpretation of the traditional subject matter and purpose of labour law based on a labour market perspective of the subject, and seeks to locate industrial policies such as tariff protection, industry assistance and other economic development initiatives within that broader perspective. The chapter uses the example of the implementation of the New Protection during the early beginnings of federal labour regulation in Australia to explore both the historical contingency of traditional labour law and to illustrate the importance of industrial...

This chapter re-states the case for a broader interpretation of the traditional subject matter and purpose of labour law based on a labour market perspective of the subject, and seeks to locate industrial policies such as tariff protection, industry assistance and other economic development initiatives within that broader perspective. The chapter uses the example of the implementation of the New Protection during the early beginnings of federal labour regulation in Australia to explore both the historical contingency of traditional labour law and to illustrate the importance of industrial policy settings to the subject matter and goals of traditional labour law in both industrialised and developing country contexts. The chapter also considers the advantages of including industrial policy within the idea of labour law to both scholarship and labour policymaking and practice.